Scraper loading apparatus



R. J. WOOD SCRAPER LOADING APPRATUS March 29, 19.27. f l 1,622,81 9

Original Filed March 17. 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 1,622, 1 March Z9, 1927. R. J' WOOD 9 SCRAPER LOADING APPARATUS Original Filed March 17. 1923 4 Sheets-Shea?l 2 March 29, 1927. 1,622,819

R. J. WOOD SCRAPER LOADING APPARATUS original Filed March 17, w23

4 Sheets-Sheet 5 A n1,6.'z2g819 March 29, 1927o R. J. WOOD SCRAPER LOADING *APPARATUS original Fiied March 17, i923 4 sheets-sheet i @ifm/@w *jl-n Ra @wip can Patented Mar. 29, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATEN'!` OFFICE.

ROBERT J'. WOOD, OF SPRING IIIILDy WEST VIRGINIA, ASSIG-TOR TO GOODMAN MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORFORATION OF ILLINOIS.

SCRAPER LOADING AFPARATUS.

Application filed March 17, 1923, Serial No. 625,752. Renewed September 7, 1926.

rlhis invention relates to improvements in scraper loading apparatus, particularly adapted for gathering and transporting loose material in mines, and has 'for its principal object to produce an apparatus of the class described capable ot gathering and trans.

porting loose material, such as coal at the working face of a mine room or entry and transporting the material to another point to be loaded in mine cars.

My invention may best be understood by reference to the drawings illustrating one form in which it may be embodied, in whichi Figure 1 is a plan view oit a typical installation ot my apparatus in a mine, and including as a cooperating element a coal mining machine ot the overcutting or slabbing type.

Figure 2 is a side view of an overcutting or slabbing machine showing my improved apparatus applied thereto.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail showing the scraper and a cooperating bearing device, with parts broken away.

Figure i is a sectional view taken on line l4c of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6 6 of Figure 3.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on line 7-7 of Figure 3.' i

Figure 8 is a detailed plan view of a rope delecting arm used in connection with my apparatus.

Figure 9 is a transverse section of the arm shown in Figure 8.

Figures 10-11-12 and 13 are diagrammatic views of the apparatus illustrated in Figure 1 and show the scraper in various positions ot operation thereof.

In order to illustrate the construction and operation of my invention the accompanying drawings show a typical installation in a coal mine. Figure 1 and the diagrams in Figures 10 to 13, both inclusive, show a mine room or entry 10, being eX- tended laterally from a main haulage passage 11 in which are haulage tracks 12, 12 :For movement of mine cars 13, 13, therealong. In the mining operation illustrated the coal is removed by advancing the working face indicated at 15 at the far end of the room 10, this advancing being done by any approved mining methods as for instance, by cutting a kerf across the working face 15 by means of a kert1 cutting mining machine, and thereafter blasting or breaking down the portion of the working 'face so as to deposity the coal in a loose pile as indicated at 1G adjacent the workingiace. The devices for undercutting or blasting need not be shown or described in detail, as they form no part of thepresent invention, excepting that under many conditions of mining it is desirable to cut a kerf in the working face by means of a machine of the slabbing or overcutting type, indicated at 17, and when such a machine is used for this purpose it may be conveniently used as a part of the improved apparatus which embodies my invention. That is to say, a machine of the slabbing type is particularly adaptable for use as a pivotal turning device in connection with my improved scraper apparatus,` although so iar as the broad features of my invention are concerned other forms of turning devices may be used, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

As herein shown the scraper ,apparatus comprises a scraper 20, having a head rope 21 and a tail rope 22 connected therewith to move the scraper reciprocably. The ropes `are operably connected with a suitable power controlling device,vwhich in the form shown comprises winding drums 23 and 24, mounted on the base trame 26 of the mining machine 17 and connected with ropes 21 and 22, resp'ectively.r These winding drums are arranged to be power driven in any suitable manner as for instance,.by means of a motor which is the same motor used for operating the cutting machine. The operating and controlling devices for the drums 23 and 24 need not be shown'in detail as they form no part of the present invention, and may be of any approved form and construction, including braking devices, as are commonly used for the operation and control of draft operated Scrapers.

As herein shown the mining machine 17 is mounted on tracks 12'al branching from the main track 12 into the room or entry 10, and arranged to guide and support the cutting machine 17 while it is in position to cut a kerf' or kerfs in the usual manner. The cutting machine is provided with a cutting element 30 of any approved type for cutting a kerf, said cutting elelnent being mounted fio i on a turntable 33 rotatably inounted on the base traine 26 and movable verticalli/,f respective thereto by suitable ineans such as pinions 3l, 3l on the cutti element 30 Working` in racks 32, 3Q extending upn/ardly troin the turntable gagen'ient with a ein ed lea ineinber 25. This bearing;` nien'iber is oiinccted to a supportingbeain pirotaily tinted in the rnine so that said beain vviil be svxun angularlv during' the leading' operatioii, lin the preferred torni own this bcani con the cutter element 30 oit the cutting` inachine 1T `which cutting element is movable angulari;y respective to the base traine tzt; o*i the machine as has been lierciindiore described. The bearing ineinber is detachably ccnnected adjacent the outer end oit the cutting @lenient 30 so as to perniit he removal thereof While said cutting,` eleinent is beine' for cutting a kerji", A. J suitable n'ieans may be pr vided for affording; this detachable connectioin as ttor instance, as shoivn in detail in Figures G and e', which show a stud 36 extending` upwardly troni the central portion of the lier-Jing` arin through the cuttingelement 30 and dctachebly cured thereto by suitable ineens such as a bolt 3T, extending coaxiallyY through the stud 3G, and provided with a nut 8S cagiiiig the upper tace ot the cutting ele* a SO. The bearing arni 25 has hunted pivotal nieve- For nient respective to the cutting elenieut. this purpose the uppe" and leerer plates and t0 of thel bearing` arin Q5 are jonrnaled on the stud 36. A plate tl ai;i rage the unt er tace ol the cu?` 30 Supports stud 3G, and irl en in position, extends on opposite sides of said cutting eleinent to provide bearing; for 'the upper plate 39 ot the hearingl ar n A supportingvracket e@ is also connected between the plate il and the loiver end et as shown.

A bearing' roller 43 is rotatably mounted on the central stud 38 in position to be engaged by the ecraper Q0 :and tailliie 2Q.

A siinilar bearing; roller -tll is nioinited ai. the forward end of the arin :5.o in poi to torni a bearing' for the li aad line and the scraper. A sheave is nieunted at the end of the arin 25 in position to be engaged used fu this po in@ arin7 together with the bsain 80 Will be -f d bodily by the drzrlt neeans and swung; piotallj,v about the turntable if. l have :honn one .ineans which inajrfv be us his purpose, which comprises a prou adjacent the torvvard end ot the roc n arm in position to engage the ioru'ard priglit n'iaii'gin 5l on the inner or bearing ide oit the scraper. Another prcjection or stop provided adjacent; the rear end of the scraper in position to be c-,rejar'cd by a stop te; on the scraper. By inerti 5 ot these coacting stops 5G, 5l, and 53. 511', the scraper will be autoniaticalll)v connected vrith the hearing' arin when it is inoved into lateral engagcnu rf' therewith, as shown in Figure iurther ineens are provided 'tor diaconnectin'fg' the sc 'aper 'troni the tearing' arni vfnen the scraper, together with the bearing) erin and brain are niovcd forwardly to z predetermined point as tor instance.y a direction changing device or detlector is tired to the inine Vfloor bj; suitable ineairi` sucii as niine jacks oli the Ordinar)v type. at a point Where it is desired to liinit the swinging nioveinent oE the beain 30. (Sec Figure l2.) 'the forward end ot the bearing; arni is provided With an out sardlrY 'tracing laiu nieinber, indicated at 5G, which is adapted to engage the direction changing` device 55 and cause the toi-Ward end ot the littering arni Q5 to swing' inwardly, thereby rellen.- ing' the forward edge 5l of the scraper Jtroni the projection 50 on the bearing' arin.

ifi direction changing device (it) is pretenabljyv positioned in advance ot the pivotal connection ot the beam 30, in order to provide a large angle ot draft by ine-ans of the head or tail lines when the said b ani is in extreme positions at one side or the other ot the base traine f2". ln the torni shovvn, this direction changing` device comprises a vcrticallv dispoaed roller Sfr mounted on the end ot a support Gl, telescopically connected under thc traine 26 and adjustable to various lengths by means of' a locking pin 63 at opted to tit in one ot a series ot holes (3A-t, (i4 in sait support, shonn in Figures S anl 9. The roller (S5 is provided with a hinged pick-up ineniber G1",R adapted to cir the terouiid, so as to detlect the dratt ropes upwardly to the roller in case they are temporarily slaclened or dropped to the niine 'lool'.

ise and operation of niy device above llt) described will be understood by referring to the diagrams shown in Figures to 13, inclusive. In Figure 1() the apparatus is shown in position to start the loading operation adjacent the working face 115 of a mine room or entry, with the loose material deposited in a broken state adjacent said working face. The inner margin or toe of the pile of loose material is indicated at 16. The bearing arm is shown in position adjacent the outer end of the beam 30. In case a cutting machine .such as described above is used it may first be necessary to change the vertical position of the cutting element which comprises the beam 30, it being understood that machines of this type are usually provided with an elevating device for the cutting element so as to cut a lrerf at various heights. When the bearing arm 25 is connected for use with a scraper', however, this cutting element is adjusted to the proper height for this purpose. The draft lines 21 and 22 are trained so as to be movable about the bearing arm 25 and are also trained about suitably arranged direction changing devices as for instance, the head line 21 is trained about guide sheaves 68 and 69 in the haulage entry 11, from thence to the fixed deflector and to the roller on the projecting support 61. The roller 65 is positioned within the path of movement of the arm 25. The tail line is trained about a Xed guide 57 in the room 10, and another sheave 58 carried on the rear end of the machine 17. In the position shown in Fig-ure 10, the scraper is shown adjacentthe right hand rib orwall 15;L in the initial or starting position for gathering a load. The tension on the tail rope is released to unwind freely from its drum 24 and tension is put on the head rope 21 by winding in on the drum 23. The forward margin 51 of the scraper is engaged with the stop 50 on the bearing arm 25 so as to cause the bearing arm and beam SO to be swung angular-ly and describe an arc indicated progressively in dotted lines in Figures 11 and 12. It will be noted that rduring this movement of the beam 30, the draft on the scraper and bearing arm is in a. general direct-ion at less than a right angle with respect to the beam, and this angular draft serves to rock the forward end of the pivoted bearing arm 25 inwardly and the opposite or rear en-d thereof outwardly, so as to trust the scraper outwardly to follow a relatively long radius as it moves about with the beam and digs into the loose material to gather the same. The angular movement of the scraper is continued until the cam surface 56 at the forward end of the pivoted arm 25 engages the fixed deiiector 55 as shown in Figure 12. In this position the forward end of said arm is swung inwardly so as to disengage the front edge of stood that the scraper 51 from the stop 50 on said arm, thereby disconnecting the scraper from the bearing arm and permitting it to pass onward about the outer side of the deflcctor 55. The movement of beam 30 and arm 25 is thus limite-d, and they maintain the position shown in Figure 12 while the scraper moves forwardly to a point ofdischarge, as for instance, to the loading chute 19, extending over the edge of one of the cars 13, which is loaded in the usual manner. Movement of the scraper is then reversed by changing the power connections from the winding drum 23 to the winding drum 24, thus releasing the head rope 21 and pulling on the tail rope 22. The scraper is then moved rearwardly about the detlector 55.into engagement with a bearing arm 25, and is automatically connected thereto by means of the coacting stops 53 and 54 so that the bearing member 25 and bea-m 30 is returned angularly toward the initial position, as indicated in Figure 18. It will be observed from this figure that the pull on the tail rope is generally in a direction at less than a right angle with respect to the beam 30, so as to rock the bearing member 25 in the reverse direction, with the scraper 20 drawnv inwardly whereby the scraper follows about a radius relatively shorter than that described by the scraper during its forward movement. The scraper thus avoids contact with the toe of the pile during its rearward angular movement. After the scraper has reached the limit of angular movement rearwardly, as shown in Figures 1 and 10, it is in position to start another forward loading movement. As the loading operation continues, the machine 17 is advanced toward the working face until all the loose material is loaded out.

While I have shown and described one form in which my invention may be embodied, it will be understood that the construction and arrangement of the various parts, and the uses to which the apparatus may be put, may vary widely without depart-ing from the scope of my invention. Furthermore, although I have shown and described a mining machine of the overcutting or slabbing type as a convenient part of the apparatus, it will be underso far as the broader features of my invention are concerned, other forms of pivotally swinging beams may be substituted therefor, if desired. I do not, there fore, wish to be understood as limiting myself to the details of construction herein shown and described, excepting in so far as specifically defined in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a scraper apparatus, in combination with a base, a projecting beam movable angularly respective to said base, a rocking IOC member on said beam, a scraper, and draft means 'for reeiprocably movingl said scraper extending about said rocking,` member whereby said scraper is movable into late 'al engagement with said rocking.;` member during;` a portion of its reciprocable movement.

2. ln a head .line with for moving base, a projectim;l

screper apparatus, a. scraper, a. and a tail line connected therethe same reeiitirocably, a beam pivotallv connected with raid base. a bearing;L inen'iber carried by sad beam, and means on said bearinmember coacting with said scraper to detaehably engage the later during a portion of the recini'ocable movement tliereot.

23. n a scraper apparatus, a base, havin;` a projecting' beam movable angularly respeetive thereto, a rocliini` member pivotaliy connected adjacent the outer end ot said beam and extending' in a gene 'al direction transversely ot the long itudinal axis ot' said b-mn, a scraper adapted to be detachably connected with said rocking;v member while in lateral engagement therewith, and draft meai'is extending; about said rocking member for moving said scraper reciprocably, whereby the scraper is swung pivotally about said base during` a portion ot' its reciprocabie movement.

Ll. ln a scraperapparatus, a base, a pro-- jeeting beam pivotally Connected with said base, a rocking` member carried by said beam, a scraper having draft lines extend ing about said rocking member for movingthe scraper reeiproeably, means ooaeting with said seraper to detachably connect the same in lateral supporting engagement with said rocking member during a portion of the reciprocable movement of said scraper, and a tripping device for said rockingmember operable automatically to reiease said scraper Ytrom connection therewith.

5. ln a scraper apparatus, in combination with a scraper having' draft means lor reciprocably moving` it, a base, a projecting beam movabiy angulariy respective 'to said base, a rocking,` member on said beam adapted to have lateral engagement with said Scraper during a portion of its reciprocable movement, and means on said rocking' member coacting with said scraper whereby said beam and scraper are bodily moved angulai-ljY by sai d draft means.

(5. In a scraper apparatus. in combination with a` movable base having an angularly movable projecting` beam, a 'ro-cking member pivotullvv connected adjacent the outer end of said beam, a scraper having cooperative engagement with said rocking' member, draft means '.lor reeiproeably movingy said scrajier, direction changing' devices for said draiift means, and controlling),` devices for said dra'lt means mounted on said bazo.

Siened at Chicago, in the county ot' Cook, and State of Illinois, this 28th day ol February, 1923.

ROBERT J. WOOD. 

